The last year or two have been kind to Raleigh Ritchie (real name: Jacob Anderson). He is one of those super talented people who is being recognized for his two completely different talents at the same damn time. He currently leads this double life as a supporting actor on HBO’s Game of Thrones and as an up-and-coming soul-pop superstar. I am sure there is going to come a time where Ritchie will have to choose which talent he wants to pursue full-time, and “Birthday Girl” makes a strong case for the music career.

The song is simply one of the best of the year. It documents this twisted tale of a spurned girlfriend who murders her man (with a hammer, no less) because he forgot her birthday–so it is not your average pop song. And it’s written so smartly and with so much trust of its audience. It seems like Ritchie is frightfully aware of the suffocating reduction of most modern pop music and is trying to make music as the legends did and fill that missing link in the modern industry. He is trying to put poetry in motion.

Follow along with the lyrics, and notice the dark turn in the last verse of Raleigh’s wayward tale.